The relationship between harsh parenting and adolescent depression

Guided by Beck’s cognitive model of depression, this study comprehensively explores the mechanisms linking harsh parenting, rumination, and victimization to the development of adolescent depression. A total of 5047 adolescents were assessed using the Harsh Parenting Scale, Rumination Scale, Olweus Bullying/Victimization Questionnaire, and Beck Depression Inventory. The results indicated that harsh parenting positively influences adolescent depression. Moreover, rumination emerged as an important mediator between harsh parenting and adolescent depression, similar to victimization. Additionally, we found that both rumination and victimization act as chain mediators in the relationship between harsh parenting and adolescent depression. These findings demonstrate that harsh parenting impacts adolescent depression mediated by rumination and victimization. By shedding light on these mechanisms, this study improves our comprehension of how harsh parenting influences adolescent depression and offers valuable insights for designing interventions to alleviate depression in this population.

Depression, as a major disease burden among adolescents 1 , poses various risks, including suicide, poor academic performance, substance abuse, and strained parent-child relationships [2][3][4][5] .The high rates of relapse and suicide associated with depression have made it a serious global public health issue in recent years 6 .
Based on Beck's cognitive model of depression, depression arises from negative, pessimistic, and irrational patterns of thought.Specifically, under the influence of such cognitive patterns, individuals often hold negative views about their own abilities, worth, and attractiveness, which further exacerbates their depressive emotions 7 .It is speculated that harsh parenting may exert an impact on adolescent depression through mechanisms such as forming negative cognitive patterns and experiencing difficulties in social interactions.There have been numerous studies demonstrated that family risk factors, such as harsh parenting, and social risk factors, such as victimization, can significantly predict adolescent depression [8][9][10] .Additionally, several studies have provided empirical evidence for the mediating role of individual cognitive factors, such as rumination, in the association between harsh parenting, victimization experiences, and adolescent depression [12][13][14] .However, these studies often overlook the interactions between these risk factors.Some empirical evidence suggests that positive peer relationships can attenuate the link between harsh parenting and internalizing problems in adolescents 14 .Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the mediating role of victimization as a risk factor in the relationship between harsh parenting and adolescent depression.However, to our knowledge such an investigation has yet to be conducted.Thus, this study aims to comprehensively examine the impact mechanisms of both family and individual factors on adolescent depression by integrating harsh parenting, rumination, victimization, and adolescent depression into a chain-mediated model.Additionally, it aims to provide new research insights into reducing victimization and depression among adolescents.
Harsh parenting refers to a series of negative parenting behaviors, including physical aggression, verbal aggression, and compulsive/controlling behaviors, adopted by parents when they are dissatisfied with their children's performance or when their children make mistakes 15 .These behaviors are often accompanied by parents' negative emotions and attitudes towards their teenagers, such as apathy, anger, and insensitivity 16 .Beck's cognitive model of depression emphasizes the importance of individual cognitive processes in the formation and onset of depression 7 .Multiple studies have shown a correlation between harsh parenting and negative cognitive patterns in adolescents, leading to the development of a negative coping style that focuses on processing threatening or negative information 8,17 .Therefore, harsh parenting may serve as a familial risk factor for adolescent depression.Specifically, children who experience harsh parenting may repeat scenes of abuse in their minds, further Procedure A convenient cluster sampling method was used to conduct a survey and research at a high school in Henan province, central China.Approval was obtained from the school administration after clearly explaining our research plan.Subsequently, we informed the students and their parents about the nature of our tests in their respective classrooms.With the consent of both the students and their parents, we conducted assessments for students in grades 10-12 throughout the entire school.During the formal questionnaire survey, trained psychology graduate students and school teachers guided the teenagers to the school computer lab to complete the online survey.Before participating, all participants were informed of their right to withdraw from the study at any time.We also assured the participants about the privacy protection measures and emphasized the strictly academic use of the data with no dissemination to others.After providing clear instructions and explanations, the participants were asked to answer the questions based on their experiences.The participants were allowed to leave the computer lab after completing the survey.The data collection took place during the period between May and June of 2022, and it continued for one month.Finally, we used SPSS 26.0 for data entry, descriptive statistics, and correlation analysis.The data were subjected to the serial mediation model test using the 'PROCESS' macro.
The study involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Institutional Review Board of Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Psychology and Behavior (Approval Number: 20220402003) and adhered to the principles of the Helsinki Declaration.Informed consent was obtained from all participants involved in the study and their guardians/parents.

Harsh parenting scale
The Harsh Parenting Scale, developed by Wang 43 , was used in this study.The scale comprises four items: "When I do something wrong, my father loses his temper with me and even shouts at me" and "When I do something wrong, he hits me with his hand or kicks me with his foot".Participants rated the frequency of harsh parenting behavior on a 5-point Likert scale, with 1 point indicating "strongly disagree" and 5 points indicating "strongly agree." Harsh parenting behaviors of fathers and mothers were assessed separately and then combined into a single indicator with higher scores indicating more frequent harsh parenting.The Cronbach's α coefficient of the Harsh Parenting Scale in this study was 0.835.

Ruminative responses scale
The Chinese version of the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) used in this study was translated and revised by Yang et al. 44 .The scale consists of 22 items categorized into three dimensions: depressive tendency, introspection, and obsessive thinking.Participants rated their level of agreement using a 4-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (never) to 4 (always).Higher total scores indicate a higher level of rumination.The Cronbach's α coefficient of the RRS in this study was 0.958, indicating a high level of internal consistency.

The olweus bully|victim questionnaire
The Chinese version of the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (OBVQ) used in this study was revised by Zhang et al. 45 .A subscale specifically measuring victimization was employed, consisting of a total of 6 questions that encompassed three dimensions: direct verbal bullying, indirect or relational bullying, and direct physical bullying.Participants were requested to rate the frequency of being bullied by their peers using a 5-point Likert scale (0 = none, 4 = several times a week).A higher score indicated a higher frequency of victimization experienced.The Cronbach's α coefficient of this questionnaire in our study was 0.834.

Beck depression inventory
The Chinese version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) used in this study was translated and revised by Yang et al. 46 .The scale consists of 21 items, each graded from 0 to 3. The total score of all items ranges from 0 to

Common methods variance
Harman's single-factor test was utilized in this study to assess and verify common method deviations.The unrotated factor analysis data identified seven factors with eigenvalues greater than 1 in this study.The total variance explained by the first factor was 33.61%.This value was lower than the critical value of 40%, suggesting minimal chance of significant common method bias in this study.

Descriptive analysis and correlation analysis
Our results (Table 1) demonstrated that all variables were positively correlated (all p < 0.01).Notably, the correlation coefficients between Harsh Parenting and Rumination, Victimization, and Depression were 0.330, 0.316, and 0.386, respectively.The correlation between Rumination and Victimization and between Rumination and Depression was 0.313 and 0.687, respectively.Additionally, the correlation between Victimization and Depression was 0.362.These positive correlations among variables support the investigation of subsequent hypotheses.To address concerns about the high correlation between rumination and depression possibly being due to similar items in the two scales, additional correlation analyses were conducted between the three dimensions of rumination and depression and other variables.The results indicated that all three dimensions of the rumination scale exhibited a significant positive correlation with depression, not solely due to the high correlation between the rumination proneness subscale and the depression scale.Furthermore, gender and age were positively correlated with depression; however, the correlation coefficients were below 0.1, suggesting a weak relationship between gender, age, and depression and indicating that they may not have substantial importance or influence.

Chain mediation effect analysis
All variables were normalized before formal analysis.In order to control the influence of other factors, gender and age were treated as covariables.Model 6 has been used to analysis chain mediation effect in process 3.0.The results showed that the fitting of all models are up to standard (see Table 2).From the model effect, the effect of Harsh Parenting on Rumination is significant (coeff = 0.307, t = 22.862, p < 0.001).
Further mediation analysis revealed that rumination and victimization have a significant chain mediation effect between harsh parenting and depression, suggesting that harsh parenting not only directly influences depression but also indirectly influences depression through the chain mediation role of rumination and victimization.

Discussion
The results of this study indicate a significant correlation between adolescent gender and depression (r = 0.07), as well as between age and depression (r = 0.06) (p < 0.01).The corresponding coefficients of determination were 0.049 and 0.036, respectively.Specifically, the statistical significance of these two variables suggests that the influence of gender and age on adolescent depression may be genuinely present rather than driven by random factors.This also suggests the existence of a stable correlation between gender, age, and adolescent depression.However, it is important to note that although these two variables demonstrate statistical significance, their explanatory  www.nature.com/scientificreports/power for the overall condition of adolescent depression remains relatively low.This indicates that there may be other unconsidered factors that have a more significant impact on adolescent depression.Several factors may have contributed to these findings.Firstly, our study focused on a sample of high school students, where both male and female students share similar living environments and academic pressures.The primary stressors they encounter primarily stem from academic demands.Consequently, the correlation between gender and depression may be relatively small, which aligns with previous studies conducted in China 47 .Furthermore, due to the exclusive inclusion of high school students in our sample, the limited age range might contribute to the reduced correlation between age and depression.It is highly conceivable that the cross-sectional design employed in this study could not capture the variations in depressive symptoms across different age groups.Longitudinal or follow-up studies have the potential to provide more accurate observations regarding age-related differences in depression.
Our findings provide support for hypothesis 1 of this study, indicating that harsh parenting positively impacts adolescent depression 48 , consistent with Beck's cognitive model of depression 49 , which suggests that parents who adopt critical, angry, and hostile parenting styles can communicate a message of excessive flaws to their adolescents, conducive to the development of a negative self-cognitive schema, causing negative self-experiences such as loneliness, low self-esteem, and self-abandonment, which significantly increases the risk of depression among adolescents 49 .Additionally, despite the Beck's cognitive model of depression originating from a Western cultural context, this study found no significant differences between Eastern and Western cultures.In the cultural context of China, parents may employ more harsh parenting behaviors under the belief that they aid in cultivating positive habits and have a beneficial impact on their children 50 .However, these harsh parenting practices also contribute to the self-cognition of Chinese adolescents, resulting in an increased risk of depression.This finding aligns with previous cutting-edge research conducted on Chinese adolescents 14,51 .
Our results also support the Family Systems Theory, indicating that negative parental caregiving behaviors, such as indifference, punishment, and excessive control, can disrupt the supportive atmosphere within the family, leading to increased stress and negative experiences for adolescents.These adverse family environments may contribute to a sense of inability to cope with the pressures and setbacks of daily life, thereby increasing the risk of depression.In conclusion, it can be inferred that harsh parenting positively impacts adolescent depression.
The results support hypothesis 2 of this study, indicating that rumination plays a mediating role between harsh parenting and adolescent depression.The experience of a series of negative life events resulting from harsh parenting can create a gap between an individual's reality and expectations, leading to repetitive reflection on the causes and consequences of negative events, ultimately resulting in a state of rumination.For example, individuals who frequently experience criticism or verbal abuse from their parents may repeatedly contemplate their own shortcomings or mistakes, often attributing problems to themselves within a negative emotional context, thereby increasing their risk of psychological disorders 52 .Generally, adolescents who experience harsh parenting are more likely to develop negative cognitive patterns, fall into negative thinking habits, and ruminate on the reasons and outcomes of problems, leading to a weakened ability to understand others, excessively high expectations of people and things, and a heightened sense of disappointment in life, ultimately increasing their risk of depression.Therefore, rumination serves as a mediator in the relationship between harsh parenting and adolescent depression.
The results of this study support hypothesis 3, indicating that victimization plays a mediating role between harsh parenting and adolescent depression.Adolescents who grow up with warm and affectionate parenting styles are more likely to develop mature emotional regulation and adhere to normative moral standards, leading to healthier peer relationships and lower rates of victimization 53 .Specifically, harsh parenting may blur appropriate behaviors and boundaries in social interactions, leading individuals to lack positive strategies for dealing with provocation and conflict.The learned pattern of behavior may result in passive or negative responses when facing victimization, preventing adolescents from developing effective problem-solving strategies.Consequently, such individuals often exhibit poor social skills, emotional understanding, and regulation abilities, experiencing higher rates of victimization 54 .Overall, individuals who experience harsh parenting tend to rely on fixed thinking patterns and adopt passive coping strategies when facing challenging social relationships.The lack of emotional support and guidance from parents contributes to the presence of negative emotions towards oneself and others, further exacerbating the risk of depression.
The results of this study support hypothesis 4, indicating that rumination and victimization play a chain mediating role between harsh parenting and adolescent depression.This finding aligns with the resource allocation theory and suggests that rumination makes individuals excessively sensitive in their evaluations and perceptions of others, potentially influencing their coping strategies and resulting in misguided responses to others' behavior and intentions.Consequently, their acceptance and support among peers are impacted, rendering them more susceptible to attacks and harm.
In summary, harsh parenting transmits negative messages to adolescents, subsequently internalizing and integrating into their self-concept, forming a negative self-image 55 .Additionally, within the framework of rumination, individuals struggle to acquire effective emotional regulation strategies and develop appropriate coping mechanisms for peer interactions.Consequently, they face difficulties in managing social pressures and become more easily targeted for bullying, leading to inappropriate emotional reactions and overall heightened risk of developing depression.

Conclusions
This study examines the relationship between parental harsh parenting, rumination, victimization, and adolescent depression based on the Family Systems Theory and Beck's cognitive theory of depression.The research findings indicate that parental harsh parenting has a positive impact on adolescent depression.Rumination and victimization play a mediating role in the link between parental harsh parenting and adolescent depression.To reduce

Strengths and limitations
Our study has several notable strengths.Firstly, the findings of this study highlight the significant impact of harsh parenting on adolescent depression, thereby validating the applicability of the Family Systems Theory within the Chinese context.These results contribute to the further enrichment of the Family Systems Theory, enhancing its relevance and content across diverse cultural backgrounds.Secondly, the study reveals that harsh parenting not only directly affects adolescent depression but also amplifies the occurrence of victimization by influencing adolescents' rumination, thereby increasing their vulnerability to depression.This study presents novel research perspectives for investigating the underlying mechanisms of adolescent depression, providing valuable insights for future researchers in this field.Lastly, this research offers fresh insights for psychological counseling practices aimed at mitigating adolescent depression.Counselors can foster effective communication with parents, encouraging them to reduce harsh parenting behaviors and ultimately alleviating adolescent depression symptoms while fostering their overall psychological well-being.However, there are still some limitations and shortcomings that be addressed in future research.Firstly, this study only selected Chinese adolescents for research.To increase the contrast in cultural differences, future research could consider cross-national and cross-cultural studies.Secondly, this study only measured the effects of parents' harsh parenting during adolescence on depression through rumination and victimization but did not explore the impact of harsh parenting on the maintenance and recurrence of depression in adolescents.In the future, researchers can use longitudinal designs to more clearly explain how parental harsh parenting influences the development, maintenance, and recurrence of adolescent depression.Finally, this study only explored the impact mechanism of adolescent depression from the family level and did not conduct a comprehensive analysis and exploration from the perspective of schools.
In conclusion, future research should combine schools and families to explore the formation mechanism of adolescent depression from the perspective of family-school cooperation.

Ethical approval
Ethics Statement The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Institute of Psychology and Behavior of author's university.Written informed consent to participate in this study was provided by the participants' legal guardians/next of kin.

Informed consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-48138-wwww.nature.com/scientificreports/ the occurrence of adolescent depression, parents should decrease their use of harsh parenting and promote the psychological well-being of their adolescents.

Table 3 .
Total effect, direct effect and the mediating effect.